Burnt Orange Report

Recall Roundup 8/5

By Andrew Dobbs

Hey folks, sorry for the absence but I spent this weekend in Limestone, Maine at Phish’s It Festival where I canvassed for Howard Dean. Amidst the copious amounts of drugs, fields of tents, 18 hour traffic jam and hours of great music we taught a few people about the governor so I’ll mark it as a success. But I’m not here to talk about Howard Dean, I’m here to talk about my favorite story of late- the California Recall.

Turns out that several polls are showing the same thing- about 55% of Californians will vote to recall Democrat Gray Davis, about 35% won’t and only about 10% are undecided. It gets worse for Gray- of that 10% that don’t know, most say they will probably vote for the recall and another large block would stay home. Right now the Republicans are slit about 5 ways with former LA mayor Dick Riordan looking like the best possible candidate with surely the most buzz. One-time Socialist Workers’ Party Presidential candidate Peter Camejo is shilling for the Greens and pornographer Larry Flynt has announced he plans to run as well. With this lack luster field the only really plausible candidate is Richard Riordan, who with a healthy amount of GOP support and a lot of Dem votes is likely to to win. He might be a moderate, but he’s still a Republican and a favorite of George Bush’s as well. Having him atop the state government in 2004 would make California more difficult for Dems and could reenergize the California Republican Party, something that we really don’t want to happen.

The best alternative is to do what 4 US Reps and Sen. Barbara Boxer have suggested- run a backup candidate on the recall ballot, probably US Senator and former Gubernatorial candidate Diane Feinstein. With Democrats dominating the state about 60-40, she would be a shoo in not only to win line two, she would probably rise to the governorship as even more people vote to replace the incompetent, impersonal Gray Davis with popular, well-respected Diane Feinstein. There are a few things standing in her way though. First, her landmark ban on assault weapons is up for sunset next year and she will want to be a part of fighting for her crowning legislative achievement. Secondly, she is passionately opposed to the whole process of recalling an officeholder as she overcame a recall as mayor of San Francisco directed by a group of racist anti-gun control activists known as the White Panthers.

But don’t count her out quite yet. She has always wanted to be governor of the state but was defeated by Pete Wilson in 1990 and kept out of the primary in 1998 only by the prospect of running against Gray Davis. This race would cost her nothing- she would just be a back up and her only campaigning would be against the recall- and she is almost certain to win. Additionally, she and Gray Davis do not like each other whatsoever. During her first run for the US Senate she was assured that there would be no challenge in the primary, until then Controller Davis ran a vicious attack campaign (as all of his campaigns have been) comparing her to Leona Helmsley. The campaign was more than a little anti-semitic and Davis was easily beaten. Getting to be governor on the cheap and getting to end Gray Davis’ career in one fell swoop might just be worth the fight. She could even come back to the senate in 2006, appointing some other state official to hold her spot until that time. The only problem is that she’s said in the past that she wouldn’t run, but with the growing chorus of Democrats asking her to run she could claim that she had been drafted- there is nothing Americans love more than a reluctant servant leader (think George Washington or Harry Truman).

Feinstein has until 5 pm Saturday to file and she’d be smart to wait until the last minute in order to keep Republicans afraid of her from backing out and supporting Riordan. Let Simon, McClintock, Issa, Huffington and Riordan all file and then at 4:50 pm have a courier run the paperwork to the Secretary of State’s office and hold a press conference at 5:05 with Gray Davis at her side. It’d create a media storm and a hell of an image- the great leader stooping down to serve the people of the state she loves next to the petty man concerned only with himself… I can’t wait to see it happen.